A little math

Just yesterday I realized the following: if I am expected to work 40 hours/week, and I have 52 students, then I shouldn't spend an hour per student paper.

Still trying to figure out how best to do this. Last Friday at 1369, I tried reading papers and typing comments directly onto the electronic version. To save my sanity, I heavily edited only the first two pages of the eight-page assignments. This system worked well, but I still spent 30-60 minutes per paper. Next experiment is a system suggested by my friend, Richard: revise according to just 2-3 elements.

As usual, the weekend flew by. Igor started refinishing the stairs, which is going to take a while, but the end result will look nice. I finally attacked my closet and weeded out old or unwanted clothes. For someone who hates buying clothes, I chose the wrong profession: I have to be presentable in front of the students. At least I still don't feel the need to wear make-up.

My friend, Liz, came by Saturday night for dinner. As Nikita's unofficial godmother, she was surprised to see how big Nikita has gotten. Luckily, Nikita sort of behaved himself during dinner. Liz was a big help: she distracted him. Much better than the last time she saw Nikita eating: Igor and I were chasing him around. It gave her second thoughts about having kids.

And, of course, I worked on my classes in the evenings. I spend about 1-2 hours/night editing or preparing lectures. Saturday night, after Liz left and I got Nikita ready for bed, I typed up comments and prepared my Monday lecture. Stayed up until 1.30 am. Last night, my brain shut off at 10.30 pm. So, I treated myself to the latest book for bookclub, Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. I've been meaning to read him for a while. Fantastic writer, although I must admit it took me a few pages to get over my editing mode.

Snack alert: yesterday I discovered that Whole Foods carries Oreo-like cookies that are not made with hydrogenated oils. Hence, no trans fat. This could be deadly. My latest thing for snacks is pears or apples (yay, fall!) with almond or cashew butter. But it's hard to stay away from chocolate.

My other discovery is microwaveable popcorn on the cob from Russo's. Apparently there are other brands. I'll need to get the name of mine when I get home.